Car rental experience (long)

[scubavaquera]

I just got back from my long weekend and thought I'd share what I had learned about renting a car on Coz. In my earlier thread last week I was asking for information about car rental insurance, and some said they were interested in hearing about how it all worked out. Most of you probably know all of this, but in case there are new folks, maybe they can learn from my experiences.

First - I ended up having to call and change my pick-up time from 11a.m. to 1p.m. and I had to go through Expedia to do this (in my original message I said I was booked with Orbitz,, but I forgot this trip I used Expedia). The agent told me that there were no cars available at 1pm (I have no idea why they could not just hold my other car from 11 till 1 ?! but whatever. So she said I would either have to upgrade to a more expensive car or cancel the reservation and re-book with another rental agency that had something available at 1pm. I said I would cancel and re-book. She then said I would have to pay a cancellation fee and I pitched a wee bit of a fit and she ended up waving it for me. So I got re-booked with Dollar/Thrifty who is located across the street from the airport. No big deal because they pick you up right outside and take you over. Lesson learned: Make sure your pick-up time is going to work when you book online. The default time seems to be 11am. This was my fault, and it wasn't as easy a fix as I'd hoped and could have cost me 35.00 to cancel.

Next, I arrived at the counter to pick up the car. I had in hand the collision insurance for $44.00 I purchased through Expedia when I re-booked. This was at the advise of the agent (she said it would be cheaper through them than down there)and since I didn't know better, I did it thinking that would be one less thing to worry about. That was a mistake. The guy at the rental counter said that while it was good insurance, should something happen, I would have to pay for any damages in full up to the entire value of the car on the spot before I could leave. Then I would have to file the claim with the insurance company in the US and hope I got my money back. (Somehow, I think that would be one big nightmare!) Had I waited and purchased it there in Mexico, I would have been covered and would not have had to worry about paying for damages before I left. Lesson learned: Wait until you get there to buy the insurance unless you can cough up the money on the spot to pay for any damages or potentially the entire car or unless you really enjoy playing the insurance claim game. I also don't think I saved any money (still had to buy liability for 13.00 per day anyway) and on top of it, had the worry of what if something were to happen which caused me not to drive nearly as much as I would have otherwise. As an additional aside - I knew they would more than likely put a hold on my debit card (which I use as a credit card) and I expected a couple hundred dollars. Today when I called my bank to tell them what foreign charges to expect, they mentioned they car rental place had put a 650.00 hold on the card that is not going to be released until tomorrow. Wow! :shocked2: That might be handy information for someone else to know. I had no idea it would be that much. Luckily I had plenty to cover it - but if someone wasn't expecting that much and had a tight budget, it could be bad.

Lastly, My experience driving there was not as bad as I thought it might be. I decided that it was a bit like the video game 'Frogger'. There are so many unexpected things to watch out for - so I felt like I had to drive very, very defensively. My experience was that the locals don't necessarily follow the traffic rules and many don't signal (I am guessing a lot of them don't even have working signals), they are apt to do sudden u-turns, and will pull right out in the street in front of you. Don't even get me started on the taxis and I knew that hitting one of them would be baaaaad news! The scooters and bikes all up in my personal space also took some getting used to, but I found that I could do fine as long as I really paid attention. Lesson learned: Take it slowly and pay attention at all times. Also, drunk bicycle riders are very unpredictable and wobbly! I am glad I had the experience so that when I go back in May for 3 weeks I will be more comfortable with the whole aspect of driving around.

I am happy to say that the car was returned without incident (other than a flat tire at Mezcalitas, which I changed quickly, and was on my way. I took the flat one to have it fixed which cost me 5 bucks. No big deal.)

Sorry this was so long, but hopefully it will be helpful info. to someone!



Happy diving,
Julie

 

[judydivescoz]

Julie,
I hope you had a great vacation despite the complications that the rental agency caused. We rent a car every time we visit. We always rent from Margarita at Rentadora Isis. We have never had the rental complications you had and are now even more thankful for Margarita and her rental company. Sometimes you think the grass is greener on the other side but I think in the case of rental cars in Cozumel, it is apparently not!

 

[scubavaquera]

Judy,

I did have a great time diving. Saturday was my birthday and I had two great a.m. tanks on Colombia reef (deep and shallows). Saw an eagle ray in the shallows and had 1:04 min. of bottom time and still came up with 2000 psi! I finally had to call it because I was freezing! Spent the rest of the afternoon on the other side at Mescalitas with my boyfriend who lives there on the island, and then we had dinner at La Veranda. Doesn't get much better! When I go back in May I plan to use Rentadora Isis. Live and learn, right?

 

[judydivescoz]

Sounds like you had a great dive. Eagle Rays always make my heart beat a little faster, they are so spectacular. Nothing is more romantic than La Veranda. Happy Birthday!!
Lets hope Margarita makes the rental experience much better and less expensive!

 

[ggunn]

In my experience it's a lot easier to worry about renting a car, should I decide that I need one, after I get there, instead of expecting an online deal to work seamlessly. Orbitz or Expedia will gladly take your money and set up the deal, but getting the conditions of that deal honored once you get there is another thing entirely. Most of the car rental agencies on Cozumel, even if they are internationally affiliated, are very small operations and only have a few cars. Your hotel can probably hook you up very painlessly with a couple of phone calls, and many of the agencies will pick you up at your hotel. I've never had the whole deal from conception to pickup take more than about 30 minutes.

As to the drivers on Cozumel not following the rules... well, it's their country and the rules are different. Yes, cars will pull out in front of you expecting you to stop. They will assure themselves that you've got time and room to stop, and they will just pull on out there. Expect it. One indication that it's the norm is that when you are in a taxi, the driver will never get angry when someone does that to him.

One thing that is different in Latin America from here in the States is that there is not very much policing of traffic laws, if indeed those laws exist. It's more a system of mores and tacit agreements. You're not likely to get stopped for a lane change without signaling or even running a red light unless you hit somebody.

 

[Diver Kat]

I guess we've done the opposite of Gordon - we've always done a package deal thru Orbitz with an Avis or Hertz car, and never had any problems. As for driving around Coz, the nice thing is it's so small you learn all the roads (and speed bumps!) pretty quick. And after having driven in NYC more times than I want to remember, a little crazy traffic in San Miguel is okay!

 

[blue steal]

Just bookmarked rendadora/isis on my computer. will be using her in October.
Now it says that the full insurance only covers a 10% deductible on collision and that if you want full collision it is $12 more+$35 (vw topless).
Can one just walk in or can you make the internet reservation a day or two before?

 

[scubavaquera]

Gordon,
I hope I didn't come across as being overly critical of the driving there - just amused. For me, there is a learning curve. It might be different for others. I realize it is another country and they have their own way of doing things. The traffic signs etc. seem to more like suggestions rather than absolutes. My boyfriend is a native of the island and explained the ins and outs to me but I was still a little on edge. He told me that there are terrible drivers there and to always watch out. They don't have to take a driving test to get a license, just pay for it, according to him. I will admit that many of the bad drivers I observed seemed to be Americans on the island for the day off the ships. We saw one guy driving a dune buggy down Juarez from the other side. Not only was he obviously drunk, but his buggy had a flat tire on the front and there was no rubber left - only rim. He had no clue, and was weaving all over and whenever someone tried to wave him down, he flipped them off and kept going. At one point he even put on a huge black sombrero. Guess he thought that would make him look super cool?! Finally, the police came up behind him and forced him over and off the road. I really thought I was going to see someone get killed. Stupid is alive and well.

 

[judydivescoz]

Just bookmarked rendadora/isis on my computer. will be using her in October.
Now it says that the full insurance only covers a 10% deductible on collision and that if you want full collision it is $12 more+$35 (vw topless).
Can one just walk in or can you make the internet reservation a day or two before?

I always make a reservation. I would hate to be disappointed and not get a car. Our favorite is the purple one. Its a hardtop. We always ask for that one. I am to cheap to rent the convertable!

 

[Mike]

I wouldn't use a debit card as a credit card anymore. You're just one bad experience away from never doing that again. Use a credit card and get the protections you won't have with your debit card. You might want to look into Capital One, they seem to have the reputation as being the most friendly in terms of international travel, fees and exchange rates.

Also, just a personal thing, but it's annoying to me to read how people sign up for something and then by their own admission put the company in a bad light for trying to hold you to what you agreed to. You signed up, you wanted to back out, you pitched a fit to get out of paying a cancelation fee you agreed to.. not real ethical to me, but that's just my personal pet peeve.

Nothing wrong with booking through an online company, I've done it many times, especially after I'm already at a destination, log on and book it and go pick it up, it makes things pretty easy cause you are basically checking availability from your computer and I've never had any problems with honoring anything, but I also book with the US car rental companies with franchises on the islands I visit, so Hertz, AVIS... etc... keep you out of most of the issues you can run into.

It sounds like you bought some sort of Expedia travel insurance thing instead of the rental car companies insurance.